Mop with detachable head



June 20, 1961 F. A. ANDERSON ETAL 2,988,766

MOP WITH DETACHABLE HEAD Filed Dec. 23, 1959 States Patent i 2,988,766 MOP WITH DETACHABLE HEAD Frank A. Anderson, 3849 W. Wrightwobd, and Louis C. Stromberg, 3036 N. Halsted, both of Chicago, Ill. Filed Dec. 23, 1959, Ser. No. 861,710 2 Claims. (Cl. 15-229) This invention relates to a mop and more particularly to an improved mop head and to a device for releasably attaching the mop head to a handle.

The invention is particularly adapted for use with mops which have large heads consisting primarily of a number of long, slender and flexible strands of highly absorbent material. Mops of this general type are quite commonly used in homes and in commercial establishments. Due to their length and extreme flexibility, the strands have a tendency to tangle and twist in use which is no particular disadvantage in those mops in which the mop head and its support are permanently interconnected. However, in recent years the tendency has been toward interchangeable mop heads, and in most cases the head is removably secured to a frame which is permanently attached to the end of the handle. In order to provide a firm connection for the mop head the frames are usually designed so that the head is draped over a supporting arm and then clamped thereto. The principal difiiculty with such an arrangement is in removing the worn and tangled mop head from the holding frame. It has been found that this removal operation is sometimes an unpleasant undertaking, and quite often these heads actually have to be cut from the holding frame. Handling of the wet and worn mop head is almost unavoidable.-

It is one particular object of this invention to provide a mop, the headof which may bequickly and easily removed and replaced without excessive handling.

It is another object of this invention to provide a holder 7 for a detachable and replaceable mop head which holder employs a minimum number of parts and which may be inexpensively and easily constructed.

It ,is a further object of this invention to provide a holder for a detachable mop head which is of independent and sturdy construction andin which the mop head is held securely in place.

It is still another object of this invention to provide an inexpensively easily constructed mop having a stranded head which may be quickly and easily detached and replaced regardless of the degree to which the strands are entangled.

Other objects will be seen and a fuller understanding of the invention maybe had by referring to the following description and claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

The mop construction in accordance with this invention includes a holder and a changeable head. The head is constructed of a plurality of strands of flexible absorbent material, and thesestrands ,arecentrally joined by means of a transversely extending band which is slotted at one side and which has a grommeted aperture adjacent the opposite side.

The mop holder with which this changeable head may be used includes an elongate handle or shaft and a laterally open frame which is rigidly connected to and transversely disposed with respect to. said handle. This frame includes two spaced substantially parallel arms which are interconnected at one end and, are spaced to accommodate the banded central 'bight portion of the mop head. One of the arms is operatively connected to the handle, and a locking means is provided adjacent the open end of the frame for releasably engaging the Patented June 20, 1961' 2 banded central portion of the head to maintain the head in position on the frame.

One of the features of this invention is the novel construction of the laterally open frame and the novel cooperating means for locking the mop head in position thereon. As will be hereinafter described, the locking means may be withdrawn from between the arms of the frame so that the head of the mop may be easily removed from or positioned on the frame.

With reference to the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is an elevational view showing a mop holder and head constructed in accordance with this invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the mop illustrating the manner in which the head is attached;

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the mop illustrating the manner in which the mop head may be attached to and removed from the holder;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged elevational view of the mop holder;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the mop head illustrating the banded central portion thereof;

FIG. 6 is a sectional elevational view of the mop taken substantially along line 66 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 7 is a view partly in section illustrating an al- I ternative means for locking the mop head in position on the frame.

With more particular reference to the drawings, the mop illustrated in FIG. 1 comprises a holder 10 and a head 12. Head 12 is constructed of a plurality of elonand are formed of an absorbent material. The strands 14 are laid in side-by-side relationship, preferably, in two or more layers, and a woven band 16 is wrapped transversely about these strands at their midpoints to define contour of the slot.

are interconnected by' means of stitching 18 which extends across the mop head '12. The strands 14 of the mop head are thus centrally united at this banded portion.

A keyhole slot 20 is formed at one end of this banded central portion and extends transversely inward from the edge of the mop head 12. This slot is preferably reinforced by means of stitching 22 which closely follows the An aperture 24 is formed in the banded central portion of the mop head on the side thereof opposite slot 20, and a metal grommet 26 is secured in place within this aperture. This novel mop head is specially adapted for use with the mop holder 10.

Mop holder 10 comprises an elongate handle 30 which is preferably constructed of metal tubing and an openend frame 32 which extends transversely with respect to the axis of handle 30. Frame 32 is constructed preferably of a resilient metal rod, which is bent to form two transverse arms 34 and 36. These arms are interconnected at the bend 38 in the rod and are disposed in spaced parallel relationship to accommodate the banded central portion of the mop head 12. A loop 40 is formed in arm 34, and this loop extends substantially normal to the longitudinal axis of that arm.

As best illustrated in FIG. 4, loop '40 is disposed within the endof tubular handle 30, and the portions of the handle adjacent this end are deformably collapsed within the loop, thereby locking the handle and the frame together.

It is to be noted that the arms 34 and 36 are substantially coextensive, that is, they are of the same efiective length; this length is substantially less than the width of mop head 12 at the banded central portion thereof. The spacing between arms 34 and 36 is slightly greater than the thickness of the banded central portion of the engages tapped hole 46 in arm 36.

mop head 12, so that this mop head may be readily accommodated between these arms. If the mop heads are of various thicknesses, the spacing should be sufficient to accommodate the head of the greatest thickness. The cantilever structure and the resilient flexibility of the arms 34 and 36 permit the heads of lesser. thickness. to also be readily and firmly clamped. on the frame 32.

Means in the form of a threaded pin 42 is provided for selectively spanning the space between arms 34 and 36 adjacent the open end of frame 32. As best illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 6 aligned holes 44- and 46 are drilled in the free. ends of arms 34 and 36 respectively. Hole 46 is tapped and hole 44 is enlarged for reasons which will be hereinafter explained. Threaded pin. 42. is inserted through the enlarged hole 44 in arm 34 and threadedly Inthis manner pin 42 is adapted to close the frame 12. A knurled head 48 is provided on pin 42 to facilitate the manipulation thereof. It will be apparent that threadedpin. 42 may bedisengaged from tapped hole 46. and completely removed from between the arms 34 and 36.of theframe, sothat head 12 may be easily inserted or. removed.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. they mophead 12 is maintained on frame 32 with the bend or closed end 38 of the frame disposed within theslot 20 of the mop head. When in this position the grommet 26 on the opposite side of the mop head is aligned with the holes 44 and 46 in the arms of the frame 32, and the threaded pin 42 may be inserted through hole 44 and grommet 26 and threadedly engaged in tapped hole 46. This pin is then rotated by knurled head 48 until the central banded portion of the mop head is tightly engaged between arms 34 and 36. Hole 44 is preferably oversized to permit the movement of the threaded pin 42 therein as the arms 34 and 36 are brought together by the manipulation of this pin in the tightening operation. Thismovement of the arms and of the pin will necessarily be greater for heads of lesser thickness. The mop head is thus firmly grasped along its length between the resiliently defiectable arms 34 and 36.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 with the mop head in position within holder 10, the ends of the banded central portion of the mop head extend beyond the ends of the arms 34 and 36 of the holder. Thus, there is no danger of scratching or marring walls orwoodwork due to contact with the metal portion of the frame, and the mop head is securely positioned on the frame.

An alternative locking arrangement is illustrated in FIG. 7. It will be noted that the pin 52 is not threaded and does not therefore threadedly engage arm 36. Instead, the pin is urged by a spring 54 toward the position illustrated in full lines in FIG. 7. Spring 54 acts between a retainer housing 56 which is attached by spot. welds 57 to the arm 34 and a shoulder 58 on pin.52. The pin may be manually moved axially against the action of spring 54 to a position in which it is substantially removed from the space between arms 34 and 36. An enlarged, knurled gripping knob 60 is provided for facilitating the manual movement of pin 52 against the resistance of. the spring 54. The mop head 12 may then be inserted or removed, and when knob 60 of the pin 52 is again released, the pin is carried by the spring 54 to the illustrated full line position.

After the mop head has been subjected to a considerable amount of use, it may be easily removed from the holder and replaced. This is true regardless of the degree to which the long ropelike strands of the mop head have become entangled. The pin 42 may be quickly and easily displaced, and the mop head12 is then free to be removed laterally from frame 32.

Although the invention has been described with a certain degree of particularity, it is understood that the pres- 4. ent disclosure has been made only by way of example and that manymodifications-a-nd changes'in various details may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, as hereinafter claimed.

What is claimed is:

1. A mop comprising an elongate-handlqamop head, a frame at one end of said handle for supporting said head, and fastening means on said frame for locking said head in position; said frame including two spaced, substantially parallel, resiliently flexible, substantially coextensive arms, integrally joined to close said frame at one end only, said arms being transversely apertu'redadjacent their free ends, one of said arms beingoperatively connected to said handle, the aperture of the other of said arms beingthreaded; said head including a plurality of elongate. absorbent strands and a central portionslightly longer than the arms of said frame transversely. interconnecting. said. strands, said central portion having an aperture therein adjacent each end thereof, whereby when said central portion has been positioncdon said headwith.

the closed end of said frame disposed within one ofthe apertures in said head, the second aperture in said head will:be aligned with the apertures inthefree ends of said arms and the ends of'said headwill overextend the ends of said arms; saidfastening means including a threaded fastener extending through the aperture in said one armand-through the second aperture in said head, into engagement with the threaded aperture in said other arm, whereby said arms may be resiliently drawntogetherinto frictional engagement with said head along substantially the entire length of the. central portionthereof.

2. A mop comprising an elongate handle, a mop head, a frame at one end of said handle for supportingsaid head, and fastening means on said frame for lockingsaid head in position; said frame including two spaced, substantially parallel, resiliently flexible, substantially coextensive arms, integrally joined to close said frame at one end only, said arms being transversely apertured adjacent their free ends and one of said; arms being operatively connected to said handle; said-headincluding a plurality of elongate absorbent strands and a central portion slightly longer than the arms of said frame transversely interconnecting said strands, said central portion having an aperture therein adjacent each end thereof, whereby when said central portion has been positioned on said head with the closed end of said frame disposed within one of the apertures in said head, the second aperture in said head will be aligned with the aperturesin the free ends of said arms and the ends of said head will overextend the ends of said arms; said fastening means including an elongate pin extending through the aperture in said one arm and movable axially therein between a first position wherein it is substantially removed from the space between said arms and a second position wherein it spans the space between said arms at the open end of said frame, and spring means" resiliently urging said pin toward said second position, whereby said pin maybe caused to pane-- trate the second aperture in said head to lock said head inposition on said frame.

References Citedin the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 16,137 Allen Dec. 2, 1856 108,304 Valentine Oct. 11, 1870 512,543 Froberg Jan..9, 1894 1,611,442 Hillyardn Dec. 2l, 1926 1,899,845 Benedict Feb. 28, 1933 FOREIGN PATENTS 184,115 Great Britain Aug. 10, 1922 1,016,754 France Sept. 3, 1952 

